Fermentation process foods with low sodium content and method of preparing same



Unite States Patent C) FERMENTATION PROCESS FOODS WITH LOW 50- IS)IUM CONTENT AND'METHOD OF PREPAR' IN G AME Verna R. Rohrkaste, 229 Seminole Ave., Edwardsville, Ill.

No Drawing. Original application Oct. 17,1955, Ser. No. 541,065, now Patent No. 2,899,314,, dated. Aug. '11, 1959. Divided and this application May 13, 1959, Ser. No. 814,129

2 Claims. (Cl. 99-156) This invention relates in general to fermentation process foods and more particularly, to vegetables and fruits having a low-sodium content for dietetic purposes, and a certain new and useful method for preparing same. This application is a division of my co-pending application, now Patent No. 2,899,314 for Fermentation Process Foods with Low-Sodium Content and Method of Preparing Same.

In recent years there has been constantly increasing research in the field of dietetics for individuals sufiering from high blood pressure or hypertension, and from certain cardiac conditions- This research has definitely demonstrated the desirability that individuals so alfiicted be restricted to a diet containing minimum quantities of sodium. Since sodium is the common metallic element found in table salt, such diets have been generically, albeit somewhat inaccurately, referred to as salt free. This restriction against foods containing salt, has, perforce, materially reduced the variety of foods available for inclusion in such diets. Also, the inherent diminution of use ofv such flavoring. agent substantially affects the palatability of the dietetic foods. Therefore, considerable investigative effort has been. made to discover methods for preparing foods which may be. included in such diets, so as to provide the. individual with as wide and complete a range of choice as possible.

Heretofore, various vegetables and fruits produced by fermentation, such as sauerkraut, pickles, and the like, have been expressly excluded from all such low-sodium diets, as such have historically been prepared by the use of salt, and, have thus contained a relatively great amount thereof. In the current production of sauerkraut, the salting of the shredded cabbage is accomplished either while the cabbage is in curing vats or being conveyed thereto; with salt being customarily added in the ratio of 1.5 to 2.5 lbs. per hundred lbs. of cabbage. The resulting brine or salting solution, which will completely cover the cabbage at all times, has been considered to the present time as a requisite for providing the proper control and environment for the ensuing fermentation process. Salt has been deemed necmsary to inhibit the growth of certain micro-organisms productive of enzymes which might interfere with the orderly multi-stage fermentation process. The fermentation is primarily lactic in character with the sugars in the cabbage being broken down, as with glucose, into lactic acid, acetic acid, alcohol, and carbon dioxide; with fructose additionally providing mannitol. Upon completion of fermentation, sauerkraut so produced has been found to contain not less than 1.5% of acid expressed as lactic acid, but contains too high an amount of sodium for rendering the product acceptable as a dietetic food. It has been generally believed that the brine has conduced to the texture of the product.

A similar situation is found in the production of pickles, since the cucumbers are subjected to a salt brine, within which occurs the lactic fermentation. The salt serves two primary purposes; (1) as a suppressant for the proteolytic and pectolytic. bacteria, thereby permitting certain of the lactic bacteria to grow; and (2) for withdrawing fromv the cucumbers water containing certain soluble nutrients. It has been assumed that the salt conduces to the firmness and texture of the processed pickles. Since fermented pickles contain a relatively high percentage of salt, such as 3%% to 436% by weight in di1l -pickles,.it will be understood that pickles have not been heretofore considered proper in lowsodium diets.

Therefore, it is' an object of the present invention to provide fermentation process foods with a low-sodium content. Another object of the present invention. is. to provide a process for producing low-sodium, fermentation process foods without subjecting same tov salti'ng or salt brine.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for producing low-sodium, fermentation process foods wherein sugar is utilized. as the primary agent.

Another object of the present invention is to. provide a method for producing low-sodium, fermentation process foods, which is economical to perform, and which is readily amenable to commercial production- It is an additional object of the present invention, to provide a process for producing low-sodium sauerkraut, pickles, and the like, which are exceedingly tasty and of excellent texture; and which have a lactic acid content comparable to such prepared. by methods heretofore known.

With the above and other objects in view, my inventionresides in the novelv compositions of matter and novel methods and processes presently described and pointed out in the claims. V

The present invention contemplates the production. of various vegetables and fruits by subjecting the base food to sugar solution and storing same therein until completion of fermentation, whereby the sodium content of' the resultant food will :be of sufiiciently low order to render the same proper for salt free diets.

As exemplary of this invention is the production of a low-sodium sauerkraut, wherein firm heads of mature cabbage are utilized, with the outside leaves being removed, and the heads are then shredded finely. Batches of any convenient size for commercial production may be used, such as preferably 20 gallons or the like. However, for each quart of shredded cabbage there is added 8-10 grams of. sugar, as dextrose or d-glucose, which is mixed thoroughly with the cabbage, and the mixture is crushed to make its own juice. Thereafter 500 cc. of water for each quart of cabbage is added to the mixture, which when disposed in a proper container will be completely covered thereby. The mixture is transferred to a sterilized crock, jar or other suitable container which is securely covered to prevent aerial contamination, and the container stored under temperatures ranging, from 64 F. to F., with the lower part of the range being desirable. The sauerkraut will be available for consumption in a period of four to six weeks, after completion of fermentation of the natural sugars in the cabbage. Such sauerkraut may be pasteurized and packaged or canned in accordance with current canning procedures. Sauerkraut is desirably packaged under vacuum conditions so as to prevent any undesirable bacterial action subsequent to fermentation.

During the storage, the multi-stage lactic fermentation process takes place just as in the case of sauerkraut curedin brine. The precise theory of the chemical and bacteriological activity occurring from the use of the sugar solution is not known with scientific exactitude. It seems quite logical, however, to theorize that the added sugar rapidly ferments and conduces to the relavailable for dietetic usage. kraut has a proven appetizing palatability, an excellent J are made, salt has played a most conspicuous roll.

mercial purposes.

-which are substantially filled with the cucumbers.

found in sauerkraut produced by heretofore known methods. The lactic acid present in sauerkraut serves to provide same with good keeping qualities and hence,

Thus, such sauerkraut U contains that quantity of acid expressed as lactic acid the sauerkraut produced by the present method is as rich in these qualities as sauerkraut produced by the use of brine. It must be noted that the quantity ofsodium in sauerkraut produced by the present invention is relatively infinitesimal, being less than the amountcustomarily found in the drinking water of large cities. In view of this low-sodium content, sauerkraut produced by this method is considered salt free" and thereby Additionally, such sauertexture and color, all of which are immediatelycomparable to sauerkraut produced with the use of brine.

Another example of the present invention relates to pickles which have been up to the present prepared in brine.

process for producing pickles, such as dill, and salt stock As has been well-known, in the fermentation from which sweet, sour, and mixed pickles and relish Serving to suppress the development of certain bacteria to 1 allow desired Lactobacilli, primarily L-plantarum, to ferment the sugars in the cucumbers with the production of lacticv acid. Additionally, the salt withdraws from the cucumbers water containing certain soluble agents, 'such as proteins, carbohydrates, etc.

However, pickles produced by this process will, expectedly, have a ,relatively high salt or sodium content, as in the case of genuine dill pickles, the sodium content may range as high as 5% by weight. In preparing salt stock pickles,

:the same have been customarily subjected to either the ,low or high salt methods of brining with the resultant products having expectedly high salt content. I

With the present invention, cucumbers to be processed into pickles by lactic fermentation are treated with a sugar solution, and hence, a non-saline climate is provided for the fermentation. The method practiced is readily amenable to economical batch operation for com- However, the fundamental method may best be described in terms of a small batch operation. To produce a salt free basic pickle, cucumbers are cleaned, graded and placed within five gallon jars, The same are then covered with a solution formed by dissolving approximately 375 cc. or about 40-60 grams of sugar in one gallon of water, with 500 cc. of vinegar being added. The container is then covered or sealed and stored for fermentation. At the end of the fermentation period, which is detectable by the cessation of bubbles at the surface, the scum formation is removed or skimmed. Depending upon the size of the pickles, such pickle has a direct relationship to the fermentation pe riod, as the larger pickles take a longer time to cure than the smaller ones.

Basic pickles made in accordance with the foregoing can be utilized for the production of sweet pickles, relish, and sour picklesin the manner that such have been theretofore produced from salt stock pickles. For example, in-the preparation of salt free sweet pickles, the processed salt free basic pickle is placed in a quart jar and covered with a solution formed by dissolving approximately 20-25 grams of sugar in 500 cc. of water, with 250 cc. of vinegar and a small amount of the indicated flavoring agent being added. The same is then brought to a boil with the pickles being then covered and sealed. To prepare sour pickles the treating composition, is, expectedly, devoid of sugar, being an equal mixture of water andvinegar.

Pickles produced in accordance with the present invention have been found to be most appetizing, to have excellent flavor, and very fine texture.

Quantitative analysis of a salt free basic pickle produced in accordance with the present invention revealed a salt content of 44 milligrams per hundred grams. It will be recognized that this amount of salt is scarcely as great as that amount normally found in city drinking water and is hence unobjectionable from a dietary standpoint, whereby such pickles are available for low sodium diets.

The present invention may also be utilized in connection with green tomatoes, Hungarian peppers, and the like, which foods prepared thereby reveal a low salt content; in the case of tomatoes such being 27 milligrams per hundred grams, and in the matter of Hun- .the present invention can be economically utilized in commercial production so that the low-sodium vegetables and fruits can be made available on a broad scale retail level. The present method may also be practiced within the home, and since table sugar or dextrose is ade- 'quate the procedure may be accomplished most economically.

It should be understood that changes in the methods, compositions, percentages, and combinations set forth may be made without departing from the nature and principle of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The method of preparing low-sodium sauerkraut which comprises finely shredding cabbage, mixing with approximately one quart of shredded cabbage, 8 to 10 grams. ofsugar, then crushing the shredded cabbage, then adding approximately one pint of water for completely covering the shredded cabbage, and then storing the cabbage in the resulting sugar solution for fermentation thereof.

2. The process for preparing low-sodium sauerkraut comprising finely shredding cabbage, placing the shredded cabbage in a container, mixing sugar with the shredded cabbage, such sugar being in the amount of 8 to 10 l grams for each quart of cabbage, then crushing the cabbage and sugar mixture for juice production therefrom, then adding to the crushed mixture approximately 500 cc. of water for each quart of cabbage, then transferring the mixture and added water to a sterilized container, and then storing the container under temperature within the range of approximately 60 to F.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Harrison Apr. 4, 1944 Rohrkaste Aug. 11, 1959 OTHER REFERENCES 

1. THE METHOD OF PREPARING LOW-SODIUM SAUERKRAUT WHICH COMPRISES FINELY SHREDDING CABBAGE, MIXING WITH APPROXIMATELY ON QUART OF SHREDDING CABBAGE, 8 TO 10 GRAMS OF SUGAR, THEN CRUSHING THE SHREDDED CABBAGE, THEN ADDING APPROXIMATELY ONE PINT OF WATER FOR COMPLETELY COVERING THE SHREDDED CABBAGE, AND THEN STORING THE CABBAGE IN THE RESULTING SUGAR SOLUTION FOR FERMENTATION THEREOF. 